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Sunday, April 7, 2013

India's band-tailed (Palla's) fish eagle, a relative of the bald eagle is threatened by a number of anthropogenic factors and is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (2012). In India, home to one of three major breeding populations for this bird of prey, the species is in great jeopardy from an invasive species. The introduction and spread of water hyacinth in the backwaters of Kerala has challenged the ability of this raptor to fish. Water hyacinth---a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to South America has spread over all the lakes in the backwater making the finding of prey difficult. Despite its widespread distribution this bird is rarely seen in some range countries with breeding populations. (J. Schaul)

India's bar-headed goose is the world's highest flying migratory bird. They don't just fly by Mt. Everest on their way to breeding grounds---they fly over it along with other high peaks that comprise the Himalayan range. They breed in Central Asia and winter in South Asia (Jordan S.)